Up to 2,900 members of the Army, 1,000 members of the Royal Air Force and 300 members of the Royal Navy will be made redundant in the latest round of cuts, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today.

Up to 2,900 members of the Army, 1,000 members of the Royal Air Force and 300 members of the Royal Navy will be made redundant in the latest round of cuts, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today.

The job losses form the second tranche of the redundancy programme set out in the Government's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), intended to help plug the £38 billion black hole in the defence budget.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond insisted the Government had "no choice" but to axe the posts, though he insisted the armed forces would remain "agile".

He said: "Difficult decisions had to be taken in the SDSR to deal with the vast black hole in the MoD budget.

"The size of the fiscal deficit we inherited left us no choice but to reduce the size of the armed forces - while reconfiguring them to ensure they remain agile, adaptable and effective.

"As we continue with the redundancy process, we will ensure we retain the capabilities that our armed forces will require to meet the challenges of the future.

"The redundancy programme will not impact adversely on the current operations in Afghanistan, where our armed forces continue to fight so bravely on this country's behalf."

MoD officials said 400 Gurkhas with more than six years' service would be made redundant under the plans along with 500 infantry privates.
The Army will also lose eight Brigadiers and 60 Lieutenant Colonels.

Posts earmarked to go at the Royal Navy include five Commodores, 17 Captains, 19 Royal Marine officers at Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier ranks while around 80 Fleet Air Arm jobs will go.

In the RAF, up to 15 Air Commodores and 30 Group Captains will be among the posts to be axed.

Dhan Gurung, who was a Gurkha soldier for 18 years, condemned the MoD's cost-cutting decision, branding it "unfair" and a blow to the Gurkha community.

Mr Gurung, 43, also chair of the Folkestone Gurkha Memorial Fund in Kent, said: "This is a very unfair decision by the Ministry of Defence.

"If you compare the cuts that have been made to the whole of the Army and Navy, the strength of the cost-cutting on the Gurkhas seems unfair.

"It's like a form of discrimination towards Gurkhas. The Gurkha people are very loyal, very brave and hard-working people."

Mr Gurung, a former Folkestone town councillor, added: "Gurkhas have served this country for nearly 200 years and continue to do so by fighting in places such as Afghanistan for this country.

"The people are very, very unhappy with this decision. This point will be raised with the local authority and the local MP to see whether anything can be done."

Actress Joanna Lumley, a leading campaigner on Gurkhas' rights, warned that compulsory redundancies would be a "tragedy".
"I know that the Government is wrestling with enormous financial worries," she said.

"However, I would urge it to bear in mind the fantastic service given by all members of the Armed Forces, including the Gurkhas.

"In these worrying and uncertain times, any serviceman or servicewoman forced out against their wishes is a tragedy.

"Any feeling that the Gurkhas are being unfairly hit will cause a great disquiet with people across Britain."

Ironically the Gurkhas appear to be losing out now as a result of improvements in their terms of service following the celebrated Gurkha Justice Campaign campaign led by Ms Lumley.

Under the changes, the Gurkhas can now serve a maximum of 22 years - rather than 15 years previously - bringing them in line with the rest of the Army.

The result has been to swell their numbers with soldiers who would otherwise have left staying on for an additional seven years and the 3,500-strong brigade is now considered to be overmanned by military planners. It lost 140 troops in the first round of redundancies.

The redundancies will be the last "major" wave of job losses for the Navy and the RAF, officials said.
The Army is expected to need further cuts if it is to reduce its number from 100,000 to 82,000 by 2020, as set out in the SDSR.

The MoD has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies but has said that no personnel currently on operations or preparing to go on operations would lose their job in the latest tranche unless they volunteer.

Major Tikendra Dal Dewan, chairman of the British Gurkha Welfare Society, said: "We were really saddened to hear this news.

"What we don't understand is why we have lost around 140 men in the first tranche and now we are losing another 400 when we have just 3,500 but the infantry, which has tens of thousands (of personnel) are only losing 500 across the board.